Mike Pence To Lead US Delegation To Olympics In Pyeongchang, South Korea

posted by Bill Galluccio -

Jan 10, 2018

Vice President Mike Pence will leadthe U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.The White House announced that Pence will attend the openingceremonies of the games, on February 9th in Pyeongchang, SouthKorea.

Jarrod Agen, Pence's deputy chief of staff, said the trip will "reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve tothe North Korean regime.''

Pence will also make stops in Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan to meet with leaders over the ongoing tensions in the region with North Korea. Before heading home, he will stop inAlaska to inspect the intercontinental ballistic missile defense systems.

North Korea has been facing mounting international pressure to give up it's nuclear weapons program, but the country has continued to conduct tests. The United States has been leading the push to force Kim Jong Un to end the tests by enacting economic sanctions.

The sanctions appear to be having an effect as North Korea reached out to it's neighbor in the south to engage in talks about ending the tensions between the two countries.

The United States recently called off military drills it had planned with South Korea and moved them to after the Olympic Games.